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18 Apr Why You Shouldn’t Look at Your Phone at Night

Lying in bed, closest to a plug so that our phones can charge close to us is what most of us are guilty of. But did you know that staring at your phone in the middle of the night can cause major damage to your eye sight and sleep schedule? Smartphone screens emit bright blue light so you can see them even at the sunniest times of day.

But at night, your brain gets confused by that light, as it mimics the brightness of the sun. This causes the brain to stop producing melatonin, a hormone that gives your body the “time to sleep” cues. Because of this, smartphone lights can disrupt your sleep cycle, making it harder to fall and stay asleep — and potentially causing serious health problems along the way.

Even though it is terribly inconvenient to all of us, it’s time to finally update those phones. Now, the recent iOS 9.3 update changes that. It enables a new mode called Night Shift that you can set starting at whatever time you choose in the evening. When Night Shift kicks in, your phone automatically adjusts the display so that it gives off warmer, less blue light.

Here’s how blue light at night affects your brain:

The disruption of your sleep schedule might leave you distracted and impair your memory the next day.

A poor night’s sleep caused by smartphone light could make it harder to learn.

Over the long term, not getting enough sleep can lead to neurotoxin build up that makes it even harder for you to get a good night’s sleep.

People whose melatonin levels are suppressed and whose body clocks are thrown off by light exposure are more prone to depression.

By disrupting melatonin and sleep, smartphone light can also mess with hormones that control hunger, potentially increasing obesity risks.

There’s a connection between light exposure at night and disrupted sleep that come with increased risk of breast and prostate cancers.

There’s some evidence that blue light could damage our vision by harming the retina over time.

Researchers are investigating whether or not blue light could lead to cataracts.

So next time your phone goes off in the middle of the night while you are sleeping, think twice about checking it immediately. A lot of the time, those notifications can wait until the morning. The new update on the iPhone is a pleasant update that you should consider using to avoid any damage to your eye sight and sleep schedule